Help with dialogue...

[gozo2u]

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6348467FYx77SxF -

at 1:33

The man says, "You forgot"

The book says, "nǐ wàng le", but it sounds like he says something different than that.

The women says, "wǒ gěi wàng le"...

What does the "gěi" stand for in this case?

[Avatar]

我（把这件事）给忘了。OR （这件事情被）我给忘了。

把……给…… OR 被……给……

[imron]

but it sounds like he says something different than that.

Sounds like 你忘了 to me, but note that some people pronounce w with more of a v sound which is what is happening here.

What does the "gěi" stand for in this case?

给 can be used before verbs for emphasis.

[gozo2u]

Thanks for the quick responses... You people are té bàng!

Sorry, I am not learning hànzì, since I need to learn to communicate rather quickly. My plan is to go back and learn hànzì afterwards...

It does sound like a "V"... I also notice he completely cuts off the ending of words ending in "ng".

[msittig]

I have a vivid memory from when I was formally studying Chinese (many years ago, hah!), where I pronounced "wang" (forget) with a more v-like sound thinking that the teacher would appreciate the authenticity of my pronunciation. Instead of a smile or praise or even no reaction at all, I got corrected in front of the class and it still smarts to this day.

I've since dropped this pronunciation since I live in Shanghai and it seems to be a northern thing, but I still accept it as a very normal accent that's widely understood in China.

[xavier kuan]

Firstly, I am a Chinese who might go to Miami recently. I wanna help but sorry for my poor English. Hope I may not mistake anyone.

As imron said, gěi can be used before verbs for emphasis. And it also emphasize "have done" or "have been done"

In some situations, 你给忘了 means 你给我们忘了. It means "You are forgotten by us"

In China, 忘 is a verb means "forget" "forgot" "forgotten". 正在忘记 or 正在忘记之中 = "forgetting"

[gozo2u]

Thanks Micah for sharing your memory... With all the accents, it's hard to keep up!

Being a newbie, I didn't realize some people pronounce the "w" like a "v"... Is it in all circumstances, or just certain consonant/vowel combinations?

Interestingly, the lady on the video says a very clear "w" and her "ng's" are very clear, unlike his...

Are there any other "different" pronunciations, other than "r", that I should look out for?

[msittig]

There are lots of little differences depending on where people are from. It would take a lot of traveling to learn them all. The w/v one is particular to Dongbei, I think. My Hunanese in-laws will refer to their home province as "Funan", which I think is great because I grew up in Spain and there is also a lot of mixing up h/f in the transition from Latin to Spanish (cf the rock "formica", which white speckled with black, like ants "hormiga" in Spanish). I bet a linguist could explain that one.

It's really not necessary to know them all, though you might pick them up because of where you live or out of personal interest (like with my in-laws). Similarly, I couldn't tell you the peculiarities of Scottish English or other variations of my native language and it hasn't made a big difference to me.

[gozo2u]

Hola msittig! Acabo de ver tu mensaje! Yo vivía en Castelldefels, España ... cerca de Barcelona ... Gracias de nuevo por tu ayuda!

Tengo una vieja Biblia y dice que... el Espíritu de Dios se movía sobre la 'haz' de las aguas.